Pakistan: court issues arrest warrant for Musharraf

The Balochistan High Court issued an arrest warrant Nov. 28 for former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who is accused of involvement with the murder of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti in a military operation in 2006. Bugti had led a campaign for greater autonomy in the Balochistan region. Cases against Musharraf have been ongoing since 2010. In April Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism Court issued a nonbailable arrest warrant against the former president and military leader for detaining more than 60 judges after declaring a state of emergency in 2007. He was also indicted in 2014 on charges of high treason, for which could face the death penalty. Musharraf pleaded not guilty to each of the charges against him, including unlawfully suspending the constitution. He called the charges politically motivated and maintained that the country had prospered under his 2001-2008 rule.

Note: Musharraf currently remains at large despite the charges against him, and was allowed to travel abroad earlier this year for medical treatment. (PTI, Nov. 28) He continues to have his political supporters within Pakistan.

A Pakistan anti-terrorism court declared former president and army general Pervez Musharraf a fugitive from the law. He is wanted charges related to the assassination of former prime minister, and first female leader in the Muslim world, Benazir Bhutto. The court further ordered the seizure of Musharaf's property in Pakistan and acquitted five members of the Pakistan wing of Taliban for lack of evidence of their involvement in the assassination. Additionally, the court found a police officer guilty of mishandling security and another officer guilty of tampering with the crime scene. (Jurist, Aug. 31)